*banging head on desk* Must. Get. To. Bed. Before. 3. Bloody. A.M. So. Plot. Bunny. Has. No. More. Brilliant. Alcohol. Related. Moments.
Ok so I was bored and finally got some time on the computer but fuzzball had other ideas which is why I am NEVER again reading Manga whilst possessing an alcohol level beyond that permissible for thinking.
Bad, BAD idea. Cottontails and all their fluffiness be damned.
Colds Were Not In the Contract!
The wind picked up, causing her to instinctively pull her arms tightly around her and, in turn, the cards just a bit closer than she had intended them to be.
Suddenly the air swam with the gentle fragrance of rose and in the midst of the dark red petals exploding over her balcony was…
Anis snapped sharply to out of her reminiscing of two days before.
AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRG! SERIOUSLY! She screeched in her head. It's not that big a deal. She saw pictures of plenty of hot guys shirtless or somewhere in that category in the celebrity magazines her friends were always giggling over.
So why does that image have to keep popping up? She seethed. She was very grateful to Kaede but seriously, why did it seem her memory banks were stuck on a glitch.
Maybe because you actually know said hot guy whom you also have the means at your disposal to summon should you ever desire another private viewing, a voice gleefully announced somewhere in the back of her muddled brain
AAAAAAAH! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!
"Miss Yamamoto, do you have a problem?" Anis 'eeped' and looked at Itsushi who was frowning at her from the front of the room.
"N…no Sensei." She replied innocently. The moment his back was turned however, her smile fell as her eyes returned to the empty desk one row behind her. What was bugging her was not so much the images as the absence of the normal occupant of said seat.
Oh quite it, she comforted herself. He's a knight and has all those special powers. I'll just ask Seiran later if he knows where the mutt is.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"Seiran!" Anis called to the Blue Knight as she caught up with him in the hall during lunch break.
"Oh hi Anis," the Blue flashed one of his sheepish little grins at her.
"Why isn't Kaede in school today?" Anis frowned worriedly. The Red Knight had been fine yesterday but the memories of the attacks were still fresh in her mind and it formed a nice little pit in her stomach that was ruining her appetite.
"Oh," Seiran's face fell just a dab. "I stopped by his place this morning, he's sick so is staying in bed for the day."
The pit immediately switched to guilt as Anis remembered her keeping him out in the chilly air since embarrassment boycotted letting him in her apartment after the accidental summoning. "But he was fine yesterday," she thought out loud. Ok he had been coughing during the finalizing of the contracts but since he had no problems during the physical she just assumed something in the magic had cured him.
"Ummm, you remember how he was coughing yesterday?" Seiran explained. "Well it seems he pushed himself too much in the physicals and those attacks he got hit with really took quite a bit out of him, lowering his immune system.
"Now he has a really bad cold and a fever. Sadly he refused my offer to cure him with one of my potions." Seiran pouted.
"So it appears the idiot is in fact an exception to his kind." Anis tried not to cringe at the flamboyantly exaggerative tones suddenly assaulting her senses. Ugh couldn't Mitsuru for once keep his nose out of her personal space.
Anis 'harrumphed' and turned on a heel to march primly back to her classroom to finish lunch.
"Waaaaaahh, I've been ignored. But still, her rebuffs, no matter how deep the pain, are a joy to be cherished for the eternals of time. Like thorns protecting the beautiful pure blossom, they pierce my heart and it shall ever more weep tears of joy for her attentions, not matter how insignificant it may appear in her eyes." Now Anis really picked up the pace on hearing the perve lines. If her guilt didn't ruin her lunch than whatever came next certainly would if she stuck around.
I'll stop over there after school, Anis comforted herself. After all, it was only natural as the Dominion she would wish to see after the wellbeing of her knights, even if the one in question enjoyed annoying her to no end.
At least she wouldn't be serenaded of how her temperamentalism akined storm clouds bearing the life giving essence with which to nurture the roses of spring's love.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Damn these stairs." Anis grumbled. "Why do people have to pick such high places for their temples?"
Finally reaching the top, she went around the shrine to the path leading to the Higa residence set back from the main temple complex. Nice place, Anis thought.
The last time she had been here was the day after Haruto enacted her father's punishment by playing sadist on the Red. The memory of that time sent her stomach back into knots and her heart pattering erratically. She sincerely hoped to never see one of her knights in such condition again.
Reaching the house she knocked politely and waited for several minutes before knocking again with a little more force. Still getting no response she tried the door which, to her surprise, was unlocked.
"Hello?" she called as she removed her shoes and stepping farther into the house. Receiving no answer she was about to commence a search of the ground floor when a choking noise drew her attention to the stairs. Rounding the banister she came face to face with an extremely disheveled Kaede.
The two stared at each other in surprise before another fit of harsh coughing broke the silence.
"Kaede," Anis exclaimed, rushing up the steps to the teen who, it seemed, suddenly needed the support of the wall to keep from hurling headfirst down the stairwell.
"What are you doing here?" Kaede wheezed and had to cough several more times before he could breathe easily again.
"Seiran said you were sick so I came to see how you were. He didn't say you were this bad." Anis grimaced. Kaede looked like death had decided to take up residence in the Lake of Fire. "Come on let's get you back in bed. You shouldn't even be up in your condition."
"And whose fault is that?" Kaede tried to grin but the effort was lost when he staggered and was only saved from an inglorious face plant on the hall floor by Anis's quick reflex.
"Kaede!" Anis cried for the second time as she carefully helped him sink to the floor. She tried not to freak as she made a show of feeling his forehead, not that it was really necessary since with her close proximity she could feel the waves of heat pouring off his body. "Oh you really are not doing to good."
Throwing an arm over her shoulders so she could better support him Anis grit her teeth and put all her effort into getting him back on his feet. For a second or two Kaede seemed to be too dazed to realize what she wanted before catching on. Carefully supporting her burden, Anis managed to maneuver them to a standing position but once there realized letting go was not an option.
The act of getting up triggered another bout of harsh coughing in Kaede. Anis bit her lip as the force of the coughs resonated through Kaede's lithe frame and into her. Trying not to wince at the painful sound she held him up as best she could while waiting for the fit to pass. It finally eased off, leaving to him sag heavily against her, drained of whatever energy he previously possessed.
"Sorry." Kaede managed between ragged pants as he buried his face in the top of her hair. Anis tried no to notice the way the air of him exhaling gently brushed her scalp and down over the back of her neck, instead focusing on the slow job of getting her charge back to his room.
Carefully easing her burden onto the bed, Anis stood back to get a better look at Kaede. What she saw did little to ease her worry.
Kaede's normally pale skin was now almost indiscernible from the sheets other than a flush the elevated body temperature left on his checks. The virulent energy normally carried in his eyes was dulled to a glassiness that reflected an unnatural gleam.
"Where are your parents?" Anis frowned. Surely they would not leave their son in such condition.
Kaede managed a watered down version of his smirk for her. "Dad's away on business and mom has a meeting with the Society up in Tokyo."
Anis tried to control the tick mark starting up on her head. "And said meeting was important enough to leave you alone like this?" she demanded.
"I wasn't this bad when she left." Kaede tried not to whimper. He normally wasn't afraid of Anis but right now he was too ill to fight with her and she looked pretty darn angry.
"Oh," Anis pondered the implications of this. "Well then I guess I'll have to take care of you till they get back."
"Eh?" Kaede took a moment to process the idea but when it got through he somehow found the energy to sit up to stare at her in shock. "You, take care of me! Are you crazy?"
Anis scowled at the tone. "What's so wrong about me taking care of you?" she grouched.
Kaede made to answer but didn't get the chance as his throat closed over the words.
"You're the…cough cough… Dominion," he finally choked. "You need to get the others and…cough…find those Ar…cough choke…Arcana Cards." Anis winced in sympathy as the redhead doubled over as another bout consumed him.
"That's it I'm calling Seiran." Anis reached for the Blue's card but was stopped by Kaede's hand on hers.
A tiny little gasp snapped up her chest as she looked up to meet his eyes. There was a glint of that old determination back but why was it making her react like this? "Don't even think of it Anis."
"Is being this sick really worth a bit of discomfort?" Anis jumped and shoved him back. "Alright I'll admit, you looked like you saw the reaper last time Seiran gave you one of his 'cures' but he only intends the best and you're not helping anything with your damn stubbornness!"
Finishing her tirade she wheeled back on her unfortunate knight to find him clutching his head and curled against the headboard. "Kaede!" she screeched and hesitantly touched his shoulder.
"If…you want … me… to …get better," he slowly manages between gasping breaths, "then stop… tryin'… to crack … my skull open."
Anis grimaced as he finally raised his head. The glint was still there but it was clouded by the pain also swimming in his violet orbs. She really, REALLY wanted to call Seiran, but it would be pointless if Kaede refused the help. "Would you prefer Mitsuru then?"
Kaede's glower would have scared a Dark Stalker. "Only if you want me to bury him in the backyard pond." Anis drooped, remembering the way the class president had treated Mutsuki when the Black was attacked. No Tenjoh was definitely not up for an option unless it was point of death.
"Fine," she sighed, "guess this means I'm stuck here till you get better or your parents get home." Kaede couldn't come up with a response for that.
After making sure the knight would stay put while she was out of the room, Anis commenced raiding the house for items she figured she'd need to take care of her patient. "Damn Baka," she grouched as she searched the hall bathroom for a facecloth, "why can't he just listen for once?"
Grabbing a basin, she filled it with water and stormed back to the room, leaving a wet trail in her wake. The lecture she had prepared, however, died on her lips when she entered to see the shivering form under the blankets.
Sighing, she placed the basin and towel on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. The same feeling from yesterday was returning, the one she had gotten when Kaede took that 'whisper' attack. The memory of him suddenly collapsing for no apparent reason throwing a choke-hold over her chest.
Gently pushing back the sweat soaked bangs plastered on his face Anis felt even guiltier remembering the way she adamantly refused to allow him in her apartment after her little accident with the cards even though he said he was cold. Me and my self-consciousness, Anis remorsed. She wondered why Kaede hadn't put up much more of a fight when she forced him back under the covers before she left. Can it be he's worse than I thought?
He appeared to have fallen asleep in her absence but the shivering continued even though he was bundled in two blankets and wearing a second shirt under his pajamas. "Do I really abuse you so much?" Anis whispered, softly brushing a cheek with the back of her fingers, the heat making her wince.
Wetting the cloth, she carefully wiped the sweating forehead when amethyst eyes slowly slid open to meet her's. "Oh," Anis pulled away feeling awkward, "ummmm, your awake."
"Did I fall asleep?" Kaede frowned.
"Um… um yeah I guess you sort of did." Anis turned and busied herself with removing the thermometer she had found in the medicine cabinet from its container.
Why am I getting all nervous suddenly? Anis squirmed, I'm the Dominion, it's my responsibility to care for my knights.
Then why in the name of the contracts am I getting all worked up over it?
"Here," she said, shoving the thermometer in his face. "Stick that under your tongue till it beeps."
"Where are you going?" Kaede called after her retreating form.
"To get you some water," Anis stated primly. "You sound like Ninufa used your throat for a scratching post."
XXXXXX
"Stupid Kaede!" Anis huffed as she searched the kitchen. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." Why did he always have to be the one to get hurt trying to help her?
First it was that outdated drink from Haruto before the race to decide her weekend, then the attack by Haruto himself in which Kaede would have died had she not turned back upon receiving her father's message, followed by the hits from that 'voice' thing yesterday. Now he was sick in bed and it was all her fault.
Great job you're doing on 'protecting' your knights Anis. In less than two weeks you managed to get them poisoned, torn to ribbons, kidnapped, almost sacrificed, knocked out by supernatural supersonic blasts, and then this. Absolutely fantastic job, really top notch.
Her misery grew as she recalled Kaede had taken that second hit only because she insisted on going by herself to find who was behind the attack and her brilliant method had been to throw him at whoever it was without thinking of the consequences.
Stopping for a moment, she leaned against the fridge and hugged herself. "Why Kaede?" She whispered in the silence. "Why do you always have to protect me even when it hurts you so much?"
"… I'll always be here for you."
"Kaede." Anis whimpered and stifled a sniff. "You are such a baka!"
"What took you so long?" Anis couldn't help wincing at the hoarseness in the Red's voice as she set down her tray next to the bed.
"I was looking for the aspirins." She tried not to look at Kaede and instead focused on the thermometer he handed her.
102.7! That's not good. Anis forced herself not to panic. "Here," she forcefully popped a pill out of its wrappings, "this will help your head." Handing him the painkiller like it was acid on her skin she sloshed water in a glass and waited till he swallowed the pill before giving him the cup.
Kaede gallantly sat up and gave her a grateful look, but the attempt was lost when the hand that took the glass started trembling. Anis didn't stop to think as she reached out and wrapped her hand around his to steady it as he chugged the liquid. What did annoy her though was the smirk tickling his lips that remained even when she took the empty cup from him.
"What's so funny?" she demanded whilst try not to blush for some reason.
"Nothing." Luckily for Anis the awkwardness of the moment blew up with another round of coughs as the water's soothing qualities wore off.
"Alrighty, that's enough fun talk." Anis brusquely stood and tried forcing Kaede to lie back down. "To bed. Now!"
Anis gave him another shove in the chest but stopped, clutching at the shirt. "Hey what are you…" Anis ignored Kaede's protest and pulled aside his pajama shirt to feel the one underneath.
"No wonder you're shivering." She grouched and ripped the blankets off. "Your clothes are soaked. How long have you been sick?"
"Started getting worse when I got home." Kaede said, making a feeble attempt to retrieve his covers but Anis smacked his hands away.
"So you've been sick all night and sweating the entire time." She sighed and checked the rest of the bedding. "Which is why your sheets are also soaked, ergo why you're cold," she remonstrated.
Ignoring Kaede's protest, Anis slid an arm behind his shoulders and helped him sit up on the edge of the bed. "Got a second set of PJs?" She asked and proceeded to go through all his drawers without waiting on an answer.
Kaede huffed and let her be. He felt like the time Ninufa tried a transformation and knocked him into a tree, only this time the nausea was a lot worse. He seemed to be fluctuating between hot and cold. What little ease the water managed to provide his sore throat with had been stripped away by the last round of coughs. And like Anis said, he was drenched in a feverish sweat causing his clothes to stick, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"…Kaede!"
"Huh?" he snapped up to see Anis standing in font of him clutching a change of clothes.
"Are you alright," Anis set the items aside and placed her hand on his forehead. Kaede started at the closeness but didn't try to pull away; instead he leaned further into the touch.
"Fine," he lied. His skull felt like it was slowly constricting in on itself. The pounding behind his eyes that had been rumbling at a low beat all morning apparently decided it was time to up the tempo.
"Bullshit!" Anis snapped.
"I had to call you twice before you heard me." Anis was surprised when Kaede tilted his head more into her palm but didn't say anything. The guilt surpassing her reserves this once to not tease him about it.
"Hmmmm," Kaede murmured softly, "must have dozed off again."
Anis shook her head in frustration. "Come on," she pulled him to his feet, "we need to get you out of those clothes so you can sleep more comfortably."
"Mmmmmmph, do I have to?" Kaede whined. He didn't like standing because it made the dizziness worse. Slumping against her, he leaned down and nuzzled her neck with his cheek.
"Wha… what are you doing?" Anis 'eeped' and tried to pull away, but Kaede had her in a tight hug, restricting her movement.
"Too tired to get up." He mumbled against her shoulder. Really, if she wanted him to sleep all she had to do was keep her hand on his head like she did earlier or just let him stand like this.
Ok maybe not the standing part, but her skin was soft and smelt of soap and some kind of perfume that didn't itch at his nose like what most of the other girls in their school wore. She was so warm but still cool in a way that seemed to suck away and ease the heat of his fever. Almost like a large, hot water bottle teddy bear.
Except she wasn't a teddy, she was Anis, his Dominion to be exact. If the other knights ever found out he had hugged her like this they would never let him see the light of day again. Well Mutsuki and Tenjoh-creepy-sempai wouldn't, Seiran would blush a bit and go off on one of his little 'quite-time' thinking sprees.
Ugh, the fever was messing with his head again.
Anis huffed and gently pressed two fingers just over the baka's eyes and pushed him back up. "Owwwwwe," Anis ignored him and wiggled out of his grasp but stayed close enough incase he lost his balance.
"What was that for?" She demanded. For some reason she couldn't bring herself to be angry with him, not when he was standing there looking like a soaked puppy with its ears drooping. Well a very sick puppy that is.
Maybe it's guys like him that they were talking about when they penned the term 'sick as a dog'. The small attempt at humor bringing a gentle upward curve to her lips.
"Standing up makes it worse." Anis sighed. The baka was such a kid at times but she wouldn't contest his statement. She had received her fair share of head pains to know what he was probably going through.
"Alright then let's get you changed. But first," she grabbed his shirtsleeve and dragged him to the bathroom, "we need to get that fever down and a cold shower will help." Silently she thanked whoever designed the house that they'd had the foresight to set up Kaede's room with its own bath since the idea of dragging him down the hall was not all that appealing.
Shoving the sick teen into the bathroom, she shut the door and leaned heavily against the wall next to it. Ok what just happened? Had Kaede really hugged her?
Na, she shook her head, must be the fever that's making him act weird. Pushing away from the wall she set off to pilfer the hall's linen closet for fresh sheets.
XXXXXXXX
Kaede gasped as the icy liquid hit his overheated skin like a million needles, recalling too mind a certain Yellow Rose's idea of a grand introduction to his Dominion. The memory caused his hands to clench into fists of anger.
How could he…? How could he have lost to that spineless little shit so easily!
Of course, he thought bitterly, her father's punishment. He could get Schwartz wanting him along with the other three dead and gone. But to use it as retribution on your own daughter for something you leveled on her?
That ignited the fury running through his veins and this time he couldn't restrain himself in time to keep from slamming his fist into the wall of the shower. It raked Kaede to no end that the bastard had tried using him to get to Anis.
Anis! He suddenly remembered and tempered the growl sparking in his chest. The last thing he need right now was for her to hear and think he had gotten into some kind of trouble.
He still wasn't sure how he had lost, all he could remember was Haruto saying something about the Dominion's command no being complete before fire blossomed over his chest. The freak had been so damn fast all he could see was a smudge of blurred motion as the Yellow spilled his opponent's life blood. Now he understood how Mutsuki had been bested without his powers.
Kaede shuddered at the memory of the bastard's tongue sliding over his skin in between whispered promises of revenge. He was just able to make out the jumble of words filtering through the haze of blood loss but they slipped away with every drop slowly staining the pavement. By the time Anis retuned he had been barely able to register the pain lancing through his being when she instinctively cradled his torn and broken body as if the pitiful attempt could somehow keep him safe and with her.
Of course none of it had compared to the burning knife the look on Anis's face drove into his chest, numbing away all else save the pain radiating in her eyes.
I took an oath to protect you, he thought bitterly. But how can I when I couldn't even take care of myself? Cold water from the shower ran down his face and in his eyes, carrying away tears of pain and shame that started to well there.
"I swear Anis-sama," he breathed to the silence. "My life will be lived with the purpose of protecting you and you happiness." He paused and smiled bitterly at the thought of the last part to come, "even if it costs me my life this time around!"
How cruelly ironic, he mused, we are all willing to die to protect her. Yet that is the very thing she fears most.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"What took you so long?" Anis frowned as the redhead slowly made his way back into the room where she had just finished replacing the sheets on his bed. "I was starting to get worried that you passed out or something." The statement caused Kaede to raise his head horrified suddenly at the thought of worrying his Dominion even more. Anis realized this and blushed. Cursing herself for forgetting how seriously Kaede could take her words at times even when she was joking.
"If you had collapsed I would have had to call Mitsuru and then I would blame you for making me have to listen to him go on and on while waiting for you to wake up." Kaede finally realized she was kidding and relaxed slightly. The sudden loss of will to remain upright causing him to sag heavily against the bathroom doorpost.
Anis did not fail to notice the change in posture and was at his side in a flash to hurry him back to the soft support of his bed. Kaede could do nothing but down another glass of water she had crushed two Vitamin C tablets into as she felt his forehead again. "The shower seems to have brought down your temperature for now so you should be more comfortable. Try to get some sleep while you can," Anis said softly as she tucked him under the covers.
"Anis, I…"
"Shhhh," Anis hushed him, "it's okay. I'll be here when you wake up."
"I'll be fine on my own. You should…"
Anis had to almost physically restrain herself from hitting the boy. "If you suggest I go look for the Arcana cards and leave you here alone I will have Mutsuki tie you to that bed while Tenjoh-Sempai heals you just for the sake of showing you how much you are starting to annoy me with that crap.
"Kaede," she continued in a gentler tone, "finding the cards and restoring the seal is important. But I would rather have to figure out a way to stuff the devil back in his cage as long as it means having all four of you by my side, safe and healthy! So just go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere till you're back on your feet."
Kaede stared at her stunned for several seconds before nodding in understanding. Without further fuss he snuggled down under the covers and finally surrendered to the call of the void that had been tugging at him. The last thing he was aware of was Anis whispering, "Sleep well, my Red knight. I'll be here when you wake up."
With that, he felt himself drift away to the gentle caress of his Dominion stroking a soothing hand through his hair over his fevered brow.
My Red Knight…the words echoed in Anis's head as she listened to Kaede's panted breaths finally settle for something less erratic if not totally even. My stubborn, brave Knight of the Red Rose. Even though you act tough and like you don't care half the time, I know you would never let something happen to me. I can't fight, I can't heal or protect you in battle. So for this once, let me be the one to help you.
He looks so young, Anis mused as she stroked stray bits of hair away from Kaede's forehead so she could place a freshly dampened cloth there. They all are, yet they are ready to lay down everything for me. Anis couldn't stop the small sniffle that rose past her chest.
Why? Why do you all do it? Anis was most surprised when tears sprung unbidden to her eyes. She hadn't cried when Kaede was injured the first two times so why now?
Can you tell me Kaede? I hurt you so much but you have never abandoned me? Why?
Okay so I just looked at my clock and it's proclaiming the time at 6:35 AM(where does the time go? Managed to watch 4 Hot Wheels BF5 episodes while reading Ransetsuki and write this?), therefore I must regrettably (eh?) leave you here while I go tuck my dragon in or my upper circuitry will resemble fried bunny goop in the morning.
So if you want to see the next chapter you're gonna have to press that little button down-under that says 'comment' and then maybe Ninufa will be incited to dig out the Fake Dominion to continue the warm and fuzzies. Till then!